Sulivan Chime: Former Enugu Governor

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says it has made significant progress in the investigation of the N450 million campaign fund given to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some politicians have been on the radar of the EFCC for their alleged complicity in the sharing of public funds to prosecute the 2015 general elections in the state.

The South East Head of Operations of the commission, Mr Johnson Babalola, told newsmen in Enugu on Wednesday that such investigation in the state had yielded significant results.

Babalola said that no amount of blackmail would deter the commission in its efforts to unravel the circumstances surrounding the disbursement of the fund.

He said that the commission had invited the former Governor of the state, Mr Sullivan Chime and the former Secretary of the PDP campaign organisation in the state, Miss Rita Mbah, who was alleged to have been in custody of the funds.

According to him, the former governor of the state, Mr Sullivan Chime is still under investigation over his role in the disbursement of the funds.

He said that people must be made to take responsibility for their actions, adding that the commission would not allow politicians to reduce the country to ‘cash and carry businesses’.

Babalola said that politicians were fond of arm-twisting law enforcement agencies as well as muddling facts in order to attract sympathy from members of the public when called to account for their deeds.

He said that the commission would not fall to such antics, adding that those found culpable would be made to face the law.

It would be recalled that Mbah, who is the current commissioner for culture and tourism in Enugu, had during her visit to the zonal office of the commission, denied knowledge of the funds.

However, in a separate petition dated April 7, 2017 and addressed to the headquarters of the EFCC, Mbah later gave details of how the funds were shared among politicians in the state.

“Mbah has the right to write any petition, but she is still under investigation and I am making significant progress,” Babalola said.

On property sealed by EFCC in the state, the operations head said that some of them, especially those belonging to former state Chief Judge, Justice Innocent Umezurike, were under interim forfeiture.